Music in public
If you organise an event or concert at which music will be heard in public, you normally must obtain permission from the copyright owners of the music. This is required whether you use live performers or a sound recording of the music, and whether you charge an entry fee or not. Even if students are performing the music as part of their assessment, if parents or other members of the public are admitted, you need copyright owner permission.
QUT has an agreement with the music copyright collecting societies that covers the performance of music at free University events. This agreement is referred to as the Tertiary Music Licence.
Public performances covered by the Tertiary Music Licence
Under the Tertiary Music Licence, you may perform live music or play music or music video recordings at free “University Events”. A “University Event” is defined in the licence as follows:
University Event means an event at the Participating University (or some other venue) organised or authorised by the Participating University including live musical performances by Students or Staff
If you charge an entry fee for your University Event, you will have to take out a separate licence with APRA and/or PPCA for your particular event or venue. For more information, see Obtaining licences below.
Public performances NOT covered by the Tertiary Music Licence
If it is a “University Event” as defined in the licence but there is an entry fee, it will not be covered. Organisers will have to take out separate licences with music copyright owners for the particular event or venue. A “University Event” is defined in the licence as follows:
University Event means an event at the Participating University (or some other venue) organised or authorised by the Participating University including live musical performances by Students or Staff
The licence does not cover performances of dramatic musical works such as musicals, opera, and operetta, referred to in the licence as “grand rights works”. If you wish to perform an opera or musical theatre work that is still in copyright, you must contact the rights holders directly.
The licence does not cover the performance of musical works in a “dramatic context.” If you think your planned performance might constitute “dramatic context”, contact APRA’s Theatrical Licensing section to clarify. If it is, you will have to negotiate directly with the rights holders.
Events organised by student organisations such as student unions and guilds that have a separate legal entity from the University are not covered by the Tertiary Music Licence. Such organisations are responsible for obtaining their own licences.
Obtaining licences for public performance
Obtaining licences for public performance is fairly simple. You should go to the following websites and find the sections on licensing:
- APRA-AMCOS - for a licence to play musical compositions
- PPCA - for a licence to play sound recordings
If you are playing recorded music, you will need licences from both organisations.
These organisations do not have the authority to license performances of dramatic musical works, referred to as “grand rights works”. If you wish to perform an opera or musical theatre work that is still in copyright, you must contact the rights holders directly.
If you are causing a sound recording of music to be heard in public, you usually need to get permission from two different copyright owners. In addition to the owner of the musical composition, you need to get permission from the owner of the sound recording. This is usually the record company. Even if there is no longer any copyright in the musical work, a work by Beethoven for example, you will still need to get permission from the sound recording copyright holder. The copyright owner of the musical composition is usually the publisher or composer. In Australia, most publishers and composers license public performance through the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). In Australia, the major record companies license public performance through the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA).
Under Australian law, the occupier of the premises where the performance takes place is ultimately responsible for ensuring copyright permissions are obtained. If you use University premises for events at which music will be heard in public, you must ensure that music licences are in place. If you hire premises from another organisation for events, you should check your hire agreement to see who is responsible for obtaining music licences and ensure that one is obtained. On the other hand, if you hire out University premises to other organisations, you should spell out responsibility for obtaining copyright licences in the hire agreement.
